[Chris Fultz]

Originally Posted by ICanCountTo19

(sorry I never did understand how teams get into the championship other than awards and winning)

From the FIRST Website -

As in prior years, in order to compete at the FIRST Championship, a team must compete at the regional level. Therefore, teams eligible to register for the FIRST Championship must first register for a regional event.

The 2008 Championship Eligibility Process is shown below to better serve the teams participating in the program and allow more time to plan for the event.

Pre-Qualifying Teams



The following teams can register for the Championship beginning on October 1, 2007 at 12 noon EDT.

1. All prior Championship Chairman's Award winners
Teams – 191, 752, 151, 144, 47, 23, 120, 16, 22, 175, 103, 254, 67, 111, 365

2. Original and sustaining teams from 1992
Teams – 20, 45, 126, 148, 190, 191

3. 2007 Championship "Rack 'N' Roll" winners (3)

4. 2007 Championship Engineering Inspiration Award winner (1)

Merit Based Qualifying Teams from the 2008 season

Merit Based qualifying is focused on FIRST core values. Outstanding team performance or outstanding robot performance is the ticket. For a rookie team, a balanced combination is the way to qualify.

The following teams are automatically given the opportunity to register at the time of their win at a Regional Event.

1. 2008 Regional Chairman's Award winners (1 per Regional)

2. 2008 Regional Engineering Inspiration Award winners (1 per Regional)

3. 2008 Regional Rookie All-Star Award winners (1 per Regional)

4. 2008 Regional Winners

Timeline for Championship Registration

On October 1, 2007 at 12 noon EDT, all pre-qualified FRC teams (see above) and FRC veteran teams who did not compete at the 2007 FIRST Championship will be able to register.

On October 25, 2007 at 12 noon EDT, veteran FRC teams who participated at the 2007 FIRST Championship will be able to register for any remaining open slots. A selected number of Championship slots will be available for this open registration.

A wait list will be maintained for any openings that become available.

Important: 2008 FRC rookie teams are not eligible to attend the FIRST Championship via open Registration but must qualify to attend per the Merit Based criteria set forth above.